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LunchTalks@CAF: Institute of Environmental Sustainability: A New Model for Student Success, Loyola University Chicago

Devon Patterson, AIA LEED AP BD+C, Principal, Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB); Monica Willemsen, AIA LEED AP, Project Architect, SCB

Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB), Loyola University Chicago’s new Institute for Environmental Sustainability (IES) is the next step in the evolution of living/learning communities, integrating a rigorous academic and research program along with a new 357-bed residence hall. Traditional classrooms and student housing are linked with an innovative passive greenhouse learning space that engages students to live sustainably in an urban environment, showcasing urban farming and harvesting building thermal energy from Chicago’s largest integrated hybrid geothermal building system. Sustainable building strategies include natural ventilation, geothermal heating and cooling, rain water collection, grey water systems, green roofs, and living walls- resulting in a Net Zero ready community.